Embarrassing

Judging from the precedent set by Alan Riddell, a substantial portion of the Cons' Calgary West riding association may soon face banishment for having the nerve to try to enforce the Cons' own rules:

In Calgary West, where MP Rob Anders is the incumbent, 11 members of the riding association have asked a provincial judge to review the nomination process that took place there over the last month.

They complain that the party did not widely enough advertise the date of a nomination meeting, did not hold it within the minimum 30-day guideline, and also failed to do a search for qualified potential candidates — all part of the organization's rule book.

The members say they tried to get the party to address the problems through its own arbitration process, but for two weeks got no response. During that period, however, party brass found the time to disqualify a would-be candidate in the riding, Walter Wakula, and also to reject his subsequent appeal.

“The integrity of the process is paramount because that is what people trust, and what they have to trust,” Calgary West party member John Knox told Calgary's popular Rutherford radio show on Tuesday.

Needless to say, the Cons' central command is likely to blame the whole thing on the riding association and try to ignore the criticism, rather than acknowledging any problem in refusing to apply rules fairly and evenly. But for a party which won power on promises to be open and accountable, yet another war against democracy within the Cons' riding associations can only cut into both base and soft support when the Cons face an unavoidable check in the next federal election.